Skinny trail that winds up through the foothills of the Tortolita Mountains. Sandy in some parts, especially in the beginning. The trail ends on a down note, as the last few miles are a dirt road back to the trailhead marker.

From I-10 take Tangerine East 5 miles, then take a left and head north on Dove Mountain Drive. Take a left on Moore road. Follow Moore road until the pavement ends. Immediately as the pavement ends there will be a metal sign marking the trailhead on the North side of the road.

Summary:I live a short ride from this loop, and ride it often as a quick workout. The singletrack is approx 10 miles in a loop, and as others have posted, there is a tendency for this to get very sandy in places, when there is a lack of rain. I vary my 'route' depending on the conditions. If it is hot and dry, I will head counter-clockwise from the TH, uphill, then turn around when it starts to get sandy as you reach the lowest elevation. I will also cut off the NE part of the loop by cutting thru as the trail turns to the right 90 degrees. There is a short cut thru to rejoin the trail which takes out the usually sandy NE corner of the regular loop. This way, you can miss pretty much all the sandy parts, and it will give you a very enjoyable ride. After rain, I usually go clockwise to get the most of the flowing gradual downhill, then the uphill is fairly hardpacked so again, enjoyable, followed by the last DH section back to the TH. With a little imagination this can be a regular and fun workout in any conditions. If it's too hot, you probably shouldn't be riding in Arizona.

Other recommended trails in the same area:50 Yr is always good. Tortolita Mountain trails are being developed and are tough, technical, but a lot of fun.

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Review DateNovember 27, 2010

Overall Rating 1 of 5

Aerobic Difficulty 3 of 5

Technical Difficulty 1 of 5

Ridden Trail:Ridden Once

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Reviewed by: Scott
,
Weekend Warrior

Summary:It started out sandy, then there was enough hardpack to have fun until the next turn, which was also sandy.eventually there was a few miles of fast hardpack.Then... more sand. If you like pushing granny on flat land or just want a work out check this trail out. easy to find pretty senery but personally I'll leave this trail to the horses.

Other recommended trails in the same area:24hours in the Old pueblo (singletrack part only)
50 year

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Summary:every so often i remember this trail exists and i head to it. it usually is 50/50. after 6 miles the road/washes start and that kills it for me. it is extremely sandy and sometimes i think hotter, like being in a frying pan hot! i started avoidind this by simply going back on the singletrack. this last time i was pleasantly surprised to find that fresh single/doubletrack had been created. unfortunately after about a few minutes/50ft. or so it became a sand pit.sand, sand and more sand. at times you would sink in a half foot or so. i persisted and eventually wished for the road. i quickly left the trail upon spotting the road and saw my car not 30 yards away. give it some time to pack in and check it out. unless of course you really like sand.

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Summary:This trail is called Dove Mountain Trail. Thank Chuck Boyer for it's design and building it. Pure desert riding in the cactus and palo verde forest. Beautiful desert singltrack curving thru the area and near a golf course.

Recommended Route:Best ridden after rains to pack the sands. I was fortunate to ride it just after a summer shower on a cool summer morning early, perfect.
I'd reccommend doing it as a 14 mile out and back rather than as a 10 mile loop cause the doubletrack back for the shorter route doesn't compare with the singletrack.

Other recommended trails in the same area:50 Year Trail, 24 Hour Race Course and spurs, Arizona Trail near and north of Oracle, Cody Trail, Copper Creek, Casa Crande Mountain Trail